Month: July 2017
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How often should I send my newsletter

If you have asked people to sign up to a monthly newsletter you are limited to sending them 1 monthly newsletter. Instead, ask people to sign up to your mailing list.

Be consistent

Generally speaking, send what your clients want to receive. If your clients are busy and you want to keep your business in front of them send a monthly or bi-weekly newsletter with the occasional extra special offer. You can usually tell from the “click-thru” rate whether your emails are being well received and whether you can increase frequency.

What is the difference between a newsletter and email marketing?

A newsletter is a form of email marketing. It is what it says on the can. Once you have got the hang of this you may want to try using automated emails to send a string of emails to gently nudge a potential client to a certain conclusion.

Is MailChimp the only programme that will send a mass email?

Not at all. There are many. Email programmes like Google and Thunderbird have easy to use add-ons (you download an extra building block).

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) programmes will also send mass emails. Again there are usually limits with you having to pay to send out a decent number. Once you get into using these programmes though it is often worthwhile using the paid versions.

There are many other email programmes like MailChimp around, however that is currently the most well known.

Do I have to get permission to send mass emails?

If you live in the UK, Yes. Although laws vary from country to country.

Do I need to register under Data Protection?

How can I stop my emails going being treated as Spam?

There is no absolute answer and if you are writing to large businesses or IT companies, emails from companies like MailChimp go straight to “quarantine”. There are some steps you can take though.

Make sure you have permission from every subscriber to send your newsletter

Ask your subscriber to add you to their address list

NEVER copy and paste from Word (it adds extra code)

Personalise your email using merge fields

How can I personalise my emails?

When using a mass email programme you will notice they offer different “fields”. A field is a column of information in your list that varies with each subscriber. So if you have a column named “First Name” if you type Hi {First Name} or *[First Name]* into your email it will address each recipient individually.

If you are new to merge fields you might want to play around with this first with a test list to get the hang of it.

Use of merge fields requires careful list management, for instance, I once received something addressed as “Hi Love”!

The sky is the limit with this, the more information you have about your subscribers the more you can personalise, however you need to use careful wording to make up for any blank fields in a subscriber list.

Can I send an email to just one person on my MailChimp List?

Technically, yes you can. You would have to put that person in a “hidden group” all on their own and send your email to that group.

Can I resend a newsletter?

Yes, you can. You could just resend to subscribers who haven’t opened it yet. You could change the heading too in order to try and get more attention.

FREEDOM TO GET LOST IN THE WORK YOU LOVE

Now that someone has given you their email address and permission to email them how can you make the most of this opportunity and get more business from your newsletter?

Treat their trust with respect

You have been given something very precious by your potential client, an email address and permission to send regular messages. It is like your relationship has moved onto an improved footing so regularly give them something back in return.

This could be news about you personally that you don’t share with anyone else, the first look at your blog or access to offers that won’t be available to those not on your list. This adds value to your newsletter and will encourage your potential clients to stay subscribed and opening your newsletter every time it arrives in their inbox.

Speak to one person

Copy an age old radio presenter’s trick, don’t imagine your whole audience but imagine you are writing this as a direct email to your favourite or ideal client. Your email doesn’t need to speak to everyone, it needs to speak to people you want as your client.

Make the most of the statistics available to you

MailChimp provides statistics of who has opened or clicked on what. Make the most of this. It gives you two vital pieces of information

Who is likely to be your next client.

What catches people’s interest the most (hint – Videos do)

Be clear what action you want your reader to take

Whether you want your reader to email you, ring you or buy something let them know that. Equally importantly, MAKE IT EASY for them. Add a link or a phone number. We are all busy and more likely to take action if it is easy.

In Summary

Give your subscriber something that is only available to them.

Think about what you want the subscriber to do.

Tell them what you want them to do.

Leave a link so they can do that with just a click.

Newsletter Tech Support

There are so many different options in sending mass emails, MailChimp is very popular and is all singing and dancing. The question is not what can it do but what do you want it to do for you?

If you have thought about sending a newsletter but decided that learning another programme is just too much, call or text me on 07974 701526 or email to [email protected] We can chat about your requirements and the best way forward for you.